A. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to exercise equipment, and in particular to grids used for agility training.
B. Background of the Invention
Athletes frequently will perform various drills to try and improve their physical performance. In many cases the drills used do not directly involve the sport for which the athlete is training. For example, many football trainers will spend time lifting weights to increase strength, but no one lifts weights during an actual football game. It is well known that many athletes will perform better when they develop certain skills. It is also true that specific drills can be utilized to develop particular skills and capabilities.
Many athletes will use various drills to improve fundamental motion skills. One type of implement which can be used is an exercise ladder. Many different exercise ladders are available, and they can be used in a wide variety of drills to improve the agility, speed, coordination, balance, quickness and other traits of an athlete. In some cases, several tires can be set in a line, and an athlete will run through the tires while stepping in the middle hole as they progress. Alternatively, exercise ladders can be laid on a playing surface and the athlete will perform various drills while moving through the ladder.
Generally, exercise ladders are one or two squares wide. These exercise ladders can be many squares long and they appear somewhat like a standard ladder with rungs lying on the ground. Exercise ladders can lie flat on the ground where they merely serve to mark a particular pattern on the playing surface, or alternatively they can be suspended at some distance above the ground. Frequently, when the exercise ladders are suspended the athlete will be performing drills which encourage lifting the foot before each foot placement.
There are a great many different types of drills which are possible with a simple exercise ladder device. Many of the drills aid an athlete to develop quick motion of the feet, improve coordination, and shorten start time. This can make an athlete quicker and more agile on their feet. For many sports, an athlete may try to increase the speed of the starting motion in any direction from where they are standing. The athlete may desire to begin moving quickly straight behind them or straight forward, or to the left or right, or anywhere in between. The athlete desires a quick start in any possible direction.
One of the best ways to improve performance is to practice the desired motion. Practicing starting in every possible direction can aid an athlete in gaining a quicker start, regardless of the direction in which the athlete will be moving. In many sports, agility and quickness training is one aspect of an overall training program. It is not uncommon for exercise ladders to be used for agility and quickness training for a portion of a practice period, and then other drills and practice techniques are used for the rest of the practice period.